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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhialto" data-source="post: 405620" data-attributes="member: 630">And now MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT 1332!  Our eagle eye turns to the east...The Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire, as it prefers to be called) is going through its long last phase under the Paleogous family.  The present Emperor is Andronicus III, a rather militant ruler who lives in constant conflict with the Ottoman Turks--usually losing to them.  He's had some military successes in Greece, but they will be short-lived.  He does not get along very well with the West, it must be stated...Andronicus's great foe is Orkhan, a dynamic ruler among the Ottomans, and the first to take the title of Sultan.  Orkhan's greatest victories lie ahead of him--he will become such a force that a later Byzantine Emperor, John VI, will actually ask for his assistance, and marry Orkhan to his daughter...Another problem for the Byzantines is Stephen Dusan, king of Serbia.  Stephan has just ascended to the throne, and will soon begin a flurry of conquests that will make Serbia (briefly) a power to be reckoned with.Another force that cannot be denied in the East are the Assassins, or as they call themselves the Nizari.  A radical group of Ishmailite Shiites, they follow (or rather followed) the Old Man on the Mountain, Hasan i-Sabbah (or one of his successors).  Dedicated to the overthrow of the Sunni Caliphates, the Nizari are in a sharp decline by 1332.  Their traditional fortress base of Alamut has been destroyed for nearly a century now, though many lesser fortresses remain to them.  They are a still a power in Persia and in the Punjab, albeit only a shadow compared to their height.  While it is easy to see them as evil, in truth, they acted to advance the cause of the more eglatarian Shi'ites over the aristocratic Sunni.  Indeed, it is probably due to their efforts that Shiitism still exists.  Direct members of the sect lived lives of philosophical contemplation, coupled with violent action, making them rather close to the Christian Orders of knighthood.  Their discipline and skills at infiltration were legendary.  (Can anybody say Monk?)</blockquote>

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